Last group of Columbus recyclers starts Feb. 1

The last phase of Columbus' curbside recycling program is to begin on Feb. 1, after the city rolled out the remaining bins to residents this week.

Sara Jerde

The last phase of Columbus’ curbside recycling program is to begin on Feb. 1, after the city rolled out the remaining bins to residents this week.

The Northeast Side is the fifth region of the city to receive containers since the program was approved in June. The city has distributed more than 200,000 receptacles.

“We really enjoyed working with the city of Columbus and getting the program off the ground,” said Jonathan Kissell, spokesman for Rumpke. “The more residents that participate, the better it is for the city.”Recyclables are picked up every other week, opposite yard-waste pickup.

The city has a $2.6 million contract with Rumpke that will increase to $2.9 million by the time it ends in 2016. Of the two Rumpke shifts required to process recyclables, one shift is almost entirely devoted to recycling from the curbside program, Kissell said.

Through December, city residents recycled more than 10,000 tons, said Erin Miller, the city’s environmental steward. “We’ve gotten a lot of really positive feedback that (residents) are really happy with this convenient service.” The service does not currently pick up recyclables at buildings with four or more units, but the city is evaluating whether the program can be extended to apartments after some residents complained, Miller said.

Richard Munsell, who lives at Smith Farms Condominiums on the Far East Side, said it’s unfair that the city doesn’t pick up his recyclables just because he lives in multifamily housing. Because each unit puts its trash out individually, he doesn’t think the condos should be considered a collective unit.